Cade hadn't been in this good of a mood in quite awhile. After bringing their funds up to a more acceptable level, he had felt a lot better about buying the supplies that they needed as well as a few extras that he'd been putting off. Ok, so Ellie didn't really need that tricycle he bought, but it was pink with purple ribbons and even had a little bell for her to ring if she felt like it. Besides, her birthday was coming up and he thought it would make a great present. He had gone all over the closeout warehouse store to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, and even remembered to get enough sugar to appease even the most sugar addicted person he knew; Johnny. It always amazed him how many times the kid would put almost as much of the white stuff in the cup as he did coffee – and still be able to drink it. Shaking his head at the thought, he was more than a little relieved to see the house. Although he hadn't had any real trouble, he had run into a few unfriendlies while he was, uh, earning some money, and had the feeling he was being watched ever since.

Pulling along side the house he honked twice to let them know he was there and started to grab things out of the back of the truck, making a mental note to put the trike up where certain little eyes wouldn't see. Looking towards the house he about feel out of the back when he saw the Winchester's following Johnny out the door. Something about the moment struck him hard about how they could think that he was their missing family member; he actually saw it, and he had no idea how to deal with it.

Having already cleaned Ellie up from her playtime in the dirt, Johnny was left to his own devices which usually meant fixing something. He wasn't known as a whiz when it came to making things work, but given enough time he could usually figure it out; instructions made it a lot easier, but those were oddities in this house. There was a list somewhere that Cade had made out at first as a joke, but somehow had become the "To Do" list, and that was what he was looking for, he always had to hunt it down and he was pretty sure Cade hid it on purpose. Finally finding it in an old cookie jar on the top shelf of the kitchen cabinet, he checked on Ellie again to make sure she was still happy playing with the empty spool that she had found. He knew that the Winchester's were up to something, and he had an idea what, but how do you tell someone to quit wishing when they hadn't taken the hint yet?

John had been watching the kid ever since he and Ellie had come out of the kitchen. He could tell that Johnny was edgy, anyone could the way he was fidgeting and trying to find something to do, but watching him search high and low for something that only he knew was more that a little disconcerting, and he was starting to wonder if the boy didn't have some sort of affliction himself until he heard a "Gotcha!" and saw a piece of paper being pulled out of an old jar. It took him a little while before he realized what it was and he almost laughed. 'There should be a tablet full of all the things that need to be fixed around here.' He thought as he watched Johnnie get some things gathered and then head out of sight. Looking over at Mary he could only shrug when she looked at him questioningly. It wasn't until he heard a very loud curse that he thought he might need to help out and found Johnnie half in and half out of a closet that housed a water heater. Before he could form the question, they heard the truck horn and Johnny was out of the tight spot he had worked himself into with a quick, 'Cade's back and he needs help unloading.'

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Cade had been practically buzzing with nervous energy ever since returning home and he could only attribute it to the fact that he had been out of the house by himself. He loved his little girl, that wasn't the issue, but there were some days that he wished that he had managed to keep his paramedic job. Then again Ellie wouldn't have as many good days as she does, so it was easy to see how things balanced out. Now though he was looking around the table and he could tell that something was up. Quick glances back and forth from the Winchester's to each other then back to Johnny, while the kid just made a point to ignore them, finding the hamburger on his plate suddenly more interesting; and Johnny hates hamburgers. Yeah, something was definitely going on.

"Hey Dad, I hate to bring this up now, but uh… how's the new guy really working out?" Dean asked, trying to keep his tone casual, but inside he felt like a Mexican jumping bean as much as he was jittery.

John but his burger down then looked at Mary puzzled before turning his attention back to Dean, "Well son, he's new and I'd like to say it's just because he's still learning the ropes, but honestly not very well. The only reason why Mike doesn't want to fire him is because he's a nephew. I was thinking about keeping your place open in case you wanted to come back, we definitely need the help."

Looking back and forth between John and Dean, Cade couldn't help but wonder if these people were seriously thinking that they'd fall for this. When he looked over at Mary he understood suddenly what he had already suspected; if this didn't work, they were concerned nothing would. 'Well Hell!'

Dean was really looking uncomfortable and even he wasn't sure if it was because of the stretch of acting skills that he didn't have, or if he was worried about this idea not working. "Well, I could until the training session started up, but after that you'd be on your own again. What about the ad in the paper, any applicants?"

Watching the performance was almost painful and he couldn't take it anymore. "So, Johnny tells me that you're mechanics and own part of a garage, right?" Cade asked, watching as their faces took on a shocked quality, before turning into curiosity. "So, you're trying to find someone to take Dean's place while he's off saving kittens from trees, good luck with that. You know most people are going into the technical fields, you know like computer programming and such, they're following the money. Just out of curiosity though, how much are you going to pay someone just starting out and still learning the ropes?" Cade had a reason for keeping this going, and Johnny wasn't going to like it, hell he didn't like it, but they needed to get this situation dealt with and if these people weren't going to leave it alone, then…

"We were willing to pay three hundred a week for a full time schedule." John said, pausing when he noticed Cade and Johnny sharing a look. He glanced at Mary and had to wonder if he was imagining things, 'is this really going where I think it is?'

Johnny had been mostly ignoring the conversation around him mainly because he knew they were planning something, but then Cade had jumped in and started asking questions which made him wonder who was scamming who. Finally the issue of money was tossed in and he had to think if he heard right. For just learning how to work on cars, the person would get a steady three hundred dollars per week. He was usually able to put around five hundred a month into Ellie's bank account, more if he was able to really push it and was lucky enough not to get corned afterwards. Looking over at John he was trying to gauge if the man was serious with that much extra and the possibility of doubling it in a few well placed games, he wouldn't have to worry about Cade and Ellie so much. Mentally shaking himself out of where his thoughts were taking him, he had just about closed the door on his mutinous mind when Cade's voice brought everything crashing down around him.

"Hey, Johnny could do that, so when does he start?"

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The sound of raised voices reached their ears even though all the door and windows were shut. It wasn't until the sound of the arguing coming to blows that they ran out to see what was really going on.

"No way Cade, there's nothing wrong with her!" Johnny was yelling as he blocked Cade's fist and tossed one of his own.

"Damnit Johnny, who are you trying to convince, me or yourself? This doc says he can help, don't you want that? Don't you want to see her smile and hear her talk in a full sentences. How about all those promises of Disneyland, or was that just crap to make yourself…"

The sound of Johnny's fist connecting full on Cade's jaw echoed against the house and shocked Mary and caused Dean to move closer in case Cade came up swinging. John had no idea what had just happened, but he was starting to understand that they had stomped all over a family dynamic that they had been to anxious to ignore.

"You want me gone so badly; fine I'm gone!" Johnny yelled not able to believe what he had heard, after everything they had been through he was being tossed to the side… for what he didn't know; but it hurt – a lot. He saw Cade get up and attempt to say something, but he wasn't going to hear it, not now. "You wouldn't even have her if it wasn't for me, so remember that when you talking to that quack about making her into something she's not." He said before he strode into the house ignoring everyone else, he had a goodbye to say and a hug to give; he wouldn't be back, no matter how much it killed him.

Mary couldn't understand what just happened, and she was looking at Cade for answers. "What happened? Cade! Where's he going?" she asked, frantic that the young man wasn't giving the answers she wanted.

Looking over at the Winchester's, Cade confessed. "I screwed up. He would have forgiven anything I did or said, but I had to rub his nose in it." He dropped down to the edge of the Mazda's bumper before looking up to see the light in Johnny's window go out. Knowing that they were still confused about what happened he admitted, "I told him about a doctor who says that he's had a high success rate with autistic kids, but he's expensive. I told Johnny that if he really wanted to keep handing money over, he should at least do it so I don't have to worry about him being dead on the side of the road somewhere. Of course he's against anyone saying that Ellie is 'wrong', and that's when I told him that he didn't have any say so in the matter since I'm her father and if he didn't like it he knew where the door was."

Dean wanted to hit something, anything. He wasn't into the whole 'touchy feely' stuff, but even he could tell that Johnny and Ellie had a connection that most people never get a chance at, and being reminded that he wasn't her father would have ripped the kid to pieces. Now he had to wonder what was going to happen, because from what they heard, Johnny was going to leave and who knew where he was going to end up.

"Maybe he just needs some time to cool off. There's no way he'll just up and leave Ellie, he loves her too much." Mary tried to reason, but something told her that Cade was right; Johnny would have forgiven anything on the spot, but that was one thing he couldn't.

Cade shook his head, "No, he'll cool off alright, but when he says something he means it, and I have a feeling he's telling Ellie his last goodbye. He's right, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have her in the first place, and I go and tell him that. Damn, why did I say that to him?"

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After telling Ellie good-bye and giving her an extra long hug, he tucked her back into bed and left quietly into the night. There was obviously nothing left for him there and it was for the best anyway, as long as he was gone no one would think to hurt them because of him. He allowed himself a long walk in self pity before he buried it deep and allowed himself to move on. After all, now he truly was his own person and he had a whole country to see if he wanted. He'd just have to make sure to say away from blonde headed girls with pale blue eyes for awhile.